QUESTION:
Shall we believe your words in condemnation of the Sahaba, or shall we believe the Book of Allah that praises them?
Allah (Exalted is He) says:
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and those who are with him are strong against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. You see them kneeling and prostrating due to the mark of prostration on them.
Qur’an 48:30
And He (Exalted is He) also says:
Allah was pleased with the believers when they paid allegiance to you under the tree.
Qur’an 48:19
As well as that, many verses speak about how Allah is pleased with the Sahaba. But Mr, I see that Shi’as curse many of the Sahaba and say many negative things about them. What shall I believe? The Book of Allah, which falsehood never approaches it, neither before nor behind it, or shall we believe these views?
Muhammad
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
Of course, you have to believe the Book of Allah (Exalted is He), whereupon you curse those whom you refer to as ‘Sahaba’, and dissociate yourself to Allah (Exalted is He) from them, except from those among them who have been confirmed as being believers and righteous, because that is what the two verses you mentioned obliges you to do, and not what you had thought.
As for the first verse, Allah (Exalted is He) says:
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and those who are with him are strong against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing down and prostrating due to the mark of prostration on them. They seek grace and pleasure from Allah. Their marks are on their faces due to the effect of prostration. That is how they are described in the Torah and the Gospel; like a seed that puts forth its sprout, then strengthens it, then it becomes thick and stands firmly on its stem, admiring the sowers that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. Allah has promised for those among them who believed and performed good deeds; forgiveness and a mighty reward.
Qur’an 48:30
The verse declares that some and not all of the companions of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) are those whom Allah (Exalted is He) has promised for them forgiveness and a mighty reward because He (Exalted is He) said:
Allah has promised for those among them who believed and performed good deeds; forgiveness and a mighty reward.
Qur’an 48:30
He’s saying, “among them” means that some of them – not all of them – are those who believed and performed good deeds. As for those who didn’t truly believe – such as those who apparently believed but inwardly disbelieved, and therefore were hypocrites – or those who didn’t perform good deeds; they are not included in this forgiveness, nor will they gain the mighty reward. Rather they shall be dragged into Hell.
Also, the noble verse has clarified the characteristics of those who were “with” the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family), such as that they are strong against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Therefore, if we do not find these characteristics in some of those whom you refer to as ‘Sahaba’, we may then know that they were not truly with the Messenger of Allah, nor will they join him in Paradise.
What the Muslims – i.e. the Shi’as – call for, is to research the biography and history of each and single companion of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family). If we find that a companion truly believed and performed good deeds, and was strong against the disbelievers and merciful to the believers; we befriend him and respect him. However, if we find him being on the contrary of this; we dissociate ourselves from him and curse him.
As an example: we can not respect a person such as Omar, son of al-Khattab (may the curse of Allah be upon him), because he did not truly believe. The proofs for his non-belief are many, such as that he used to frequently attend the lessons of the Jews on every Saturday to learn from them! He acknowledged this, as well as he admitted that he was the most beloved person to the Jews! That is when he said:
I used to gather with the Jews on the day of their lesson. They used to say: ‘None of your companions is more honoured by us than you because you always come to us!’
Kanz-ul-’Ummal, volume 2, page 353
This is even though the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) forbade him from doing so, saying:
Are you confused by it, O son of al-Khattab?!
Musnad Ahmad, volume 3, page 387
It is to everyone’s knowledge that a true believer never abandons the Master of the Messengers (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family), nor does he go to the Jewish polytheists to learn his religion from them! This is proof of Omar’s non-belief. He also admitted himself that he doubted in Islam and the Prophethood of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) during the peace treaty in Hudaibiya! He said:
By Allah, I did not doubt (in Islam) since I accepted Islam, except for that day!
Al-Mu’jam-ul-Kabeer, by Tabarani, volume 20, page 14
Also, a true believer never crosses the limit against the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family), nor does he reply insultingly to him! This is something that Omar did several times, such as during the calamity of Thursday in which Omar accused the Prophet for hallucinating, and speaking nonsense, and for being seriously ill, after which the Prophet expelled him and his companions! Bukhari narrates of Ibn Abbas, saying:
When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him) was on his death-bed, and in the house, there were some people, among whom was Omar bin al-Khattab, the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him) said: ‘Come, let me write for you a book after which you will not go astray.’ Then Omar said: ‘The Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him) is seriously ill! And you have the Qur’an! The Book of Allah is enough for us!’ The people of the house disputed and quarrelled. Some of them said what Omar said. When their talk and dispute increased in the presence of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him), the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him) said: ‘Get up!’ Ubaydullah said: ‘Ibn Abbas used to say: Indeed, it was a great calamity that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him) was prevented from writing for them that book because of their dispute and noise.’
Sahih Bukhari, volume 7, page 9
Omar’s evil deeds are many and can not be counted, such as killing and hitting people without any right, as well as drinking alcohol. His biggest crimes were his command to assassinate the great Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) and killing his pure daughter, Fatima al-Zahra (may Allah’s blessings be upon her). There is a long discussion regarding this issue which we’ll not take here.
Such actions are not good deeds but are rather crimes and misdeeds. On this basis, Omar did not gain forgiveness nor a mighty reward from Allah, but rather he is in Hell.
Let us examine the rest of the characteristics. The verse says: “strong against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves”. As an example, we find that Aisha, and Talha, and Zubair (may Allah curse them) fought the legitimate caliph, Ali, son of Abi-Talib (may peace be upon them both), and all the believers who were with them. Therefore, the characteristics mentioned in this verse do not apply to these three and their kinds, because fighting and struggling is the contrary of mercifulness. Since that is how it is, they are not with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) but are rather in Hellfire. If not, then we have to reject the Qur’an, may Allah forbid!
So, the verse contradicts what the ‘Sunnis’ claim when saying that all the “Sahaba” were just and that it’s obligatory to befriend them and respect them.
As for the second verse, Allah says, and He is the best of sayers:
Allah was pleased with the believers when they paid allegiance to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts and sent down the peace upon them and granted them a near victory.
Qur’an 48:19
This verse does not prove in any way that all the companions of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) are obligatory to befriend and respect, but rather proves the opposite thing.
Firstly: The number of those who paid allegiance under the tree do not exceed 1500 person as a maximum; so where are the rest of the companions whose number exceeded a hundred thousand?!
Secondly: The pleasure of Allah here is not general, nor does it apply to all ages and circumstances, but is rather limited to the allegiance itself, because He (Exalted is He) said: “when they paid allegiance to you” which means that Allah became pleased with them for their paying of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, not that He is always pleased with them, as ignorant people claim.
Thirdly: The pleasure of Allah here is with the condition of not breaking the allegiance, accordingly to His saying:
The pleasure of Allah here is with the condition of not breaking the allegiance, accordingly to His saying: “Those who pay allegiance to you only pay allegiance to you for the sake of Allah. Allah’s Hand is above their hand. Whoever breaks (the allegiance), he breaks it for himself, and whoever withholds to the covenant he made with Allah, he will be granted a great reward”.
Qur’an 48:11
Therefore, he who breaks the allegiance and does not stick to it, Allah is not pleased with him, nor will He grant him a great reward.
It has been confirmed that most of those who paid allegiance under the tree broke the allegiance! The head of those being Abu Bakr, and Omar, and Uthman! That is because the allegiance was concerning not to flee from the wars and battles. Muslim narrates of Jabir, who said:
On the day of Hudaibiya, we were a thousand and four hundred, and we paid allegiance to him. Omar held his hand under the tree, and he said: ‘We paid allegiance to him to not flee, and we did not pay allegiance to him to die.’
Sahih Muslim, volume 6, page 25
The major part of these people who paid allegiance fled during the Battle of Hunayn, except for the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (may peace be upon him), and Abbas, and Abu-Sufyan, son of Harith, son of Abdul-Muttalib, and Abdullah, son of Mas’oud. Ibn Abi-Shayba narrates of Hakam, son of ‘Utayba, who said:
When the people fled from the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) on the Day of Hunayn, the Prophet said: ‘I am the Prophet! This is no lie! I am the son of Abdul-Muttalib!’ None remained with him but four; three from Bani-Hashim, and one man from another clan: Ali, son of Abi-Talib, and Abbas, and they were in front of him, and Abu-Sufyan, son of Harith, on his right side, and the son of Mas’oud, on his left side.
Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba, volume 7, page 417
Based on this narration, Abu Bakr, and Omar, and Uthman, and the rest of whom you refer to as the ‘Sahaba’ fled like rats from the Battle of Hunayn! Therefore, they have broken the allegiance of gaining Allah’s pleasure in Hudaibiya. Since it is as such, the pleasure of Allah does not include them. They are in Hellfire and have met their evil fate.
In addition to this, what is also funny and heartbreaking is that some of those who paid allegiance under the tree – and whom the ‘Sunnis’ claim that they’ve gained the pleasure of Allah and that they’re in Paradise – have actually killed one another! As an example, Abdul-Rahman, son of ‘Udais al-Balawi, was one of those who killed ‘Uthman, son of Affan, whereas both of them paid allegiance under the tree! Abul-Ghadiya Yasar, son of Sab’, killed Ammar, son of Yasir, (may Allah be pleased with him), whereas both of them – similar to the first example – paid allegiance under the tree! How can a rational person believe that both the murderer and the victim alike are in Paradise?!
You are obliged to believe the word of Allah (Exalted is He), which disproves that every single companion of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) was just and god-fearing, and which set many conditions for them so that they may assure Paradise for themselves. You are also obliged to believe the word of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family), in which he predicted that the major part of his companions is going to Hellfire and that they will turn back upon their heels. Bukhari narrated the following of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family):
I will be your predecessor at the Lake-Fount, and men of you shall be raised to me. Then they shall be moved from me, and I will say: ‘O Lord! My companions!’ Then it will be said: ‘You do not know what they innovated after you!’
Sahih Bukhari, volume 7, page 206
Bukhari also narrated the following of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family):
A group of my companions shall be brought on the Day of Resurrection at the Lake-Fount. Then I will say: ‘O Lord! My companions!’ Then He will say: ‘You do not know what they innovated after you! They turned back upon their backs as renegades!’
Sahih Bukhari
Bukhari also narrated the following of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family):
I will be standing, then a group of people that I will recognise shall be brought, and a man (an Angel) will stand between me and them, and say: ‘Come hither!’ Then I will say: ‘To where?’ He will say: ‘To Hellfire, by Allah!’ I will say: ‘What have they done?’ He will say: ‘After you, they turned back upon their backs as renegades!’ Then another group that I will recognise shall be brought, and a man will stand between me and them, and say: ‘Come hither!’ I will say: ‘To where?’ He will say: ‘To Hellfire, by Allah!’ I will say: ‘What have they done?’ He will say: ‘After you, they turned back upon their backs as renegades!’ I will see that those who escaped from them were not but like camels without a shepherd!
Sahih Bukhari
You are also obliged to not put any importance for the foolish ‘Sunnis’ who reject the word of Allah (Exalted is He) and the word of His Messenger (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family); claiming that all whom they refer to as ‘Sahaba’ are in Paradise! Allah is more just than doing so.
The Office of Sheikh al-Habib
